2011 Chesapeake Bay plan to be released

Chesapeake Bay restoration activities planned for next year and the funds to pay for them are part of a new annual action plan to be released by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA says the plan to be released Thursday is required under a presidential order issued last year that put the federal government at the head of the previously state-led effort.

The announcement comes as the six bay watershed states and the District of Columbia finalize plans for complying with the order. The EPA announced last week that plans filed by Washington and Maryland represented a strong start, but other states must strengthen their plans or face tighter federal regulation.

The other states are Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and New York.